Family Law News Edinburgh

According to the latest statistics, Scottish parents are paying one of the highest rates for child care in Europe, with the facilities of care being worse than other areas of the UK.

A new report has shown that 60,000 grandparents - 9,000 per year or 25 every day – have dropped out of the labour market to bring up their grandchildren only to face a lack of recognition and support from Government.

Commenting on the release of the Public Accounts Committee review of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC), 4Children Chief Executive Anne Longfield OBE said:

There is an urgent need for more foster carers for teenagers across Scotland, new research from the Fostering Network has found.

Recent research from CHILDREN 1ST has found that the financial support kinship carers receive in Scotland can vary, depending on where they live.

The Fostering Network has warned the Scottish Government that if it fails to give fostered children proper financial support then these children will not have their essential needs met.

The NSPCC is calling on the Scottish Government to strengthen its commitment to early intervention by putting Scotland’s youngest children at the heart of its forthcoming mental health strategy, as new figures show that the number of young children taken into care is the highest for more than ten years.

Coram Children’s Legal Centre (CCLC), which specialises in law and policy affecting children and young people, has spoken out against the government's proposed reforms to the child maintenance system.

The second and final part of the Sixth Special Commission to review the practical operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction and 1996 Hague Child Protection Conventions has concluded in The Hague.

The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has published the latest Child Support Agency (CSA) performance statistics.

There has been a large increase in the number of children abducted by one of their parents, according to reunite International Child Abduction Centre. Latest figures show a 47% increase in calls to the charity's advice line.

A recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau has revealed that in 2009, 41.2% of custodial parents received the full amount of child support owed them, down from 46.8% in 2007. The proportion of these parents who were owed child support payments and who received any amount at all — either full or partial — declined from 76.3% to 70.8% over the period.

New research shows separated parents who work out their own child maintenance arrangements are more satisfied with their set-up than those using the Child Support Agency (CSA).

The latest Child Support Agency figures show that just over 876,000 children were benefiting from child maintenance payments at the end October, up by 7,400 on the previous quarter.

The Child Support Agency (CSA) has published a list of excuses given by parents for not paying child maintenance, reports the Herald.

The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has recently published the results of a study into the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Options telephone service.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has launched a new child abduction prevention campaign, after recent figures revealed a 10% increase in the number of children being abducted by a parent to a country that has not signed up the Hague convention on international parental child abduction. 

Recent figures released by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) have shown that for the fourth year running there has been a fall in the number of children and young people being referred to the Reporter.

The Sixth Meeting of the Special Commission to review the practical operation of the Hague Abduction and Child Protection Conventions has concluded with recommendations for judges, other government officials and experts to consider when confronted with Convention issues. The recommendations strive to improve the way in which the Conventions operate in Contracting States.

The Hague Conference on Private International Law has convened the Sixth Meeting of the Special Commission to review the practical operation of the Hague Abduction and Child Protection Conventions. Both Conventions are important, widely ratified multilateral instruments which protect the safety and welfare of children all over the world.